England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland aren't technically countries (depsite the fact that every Englishman says England is a country, every Scotsman says Scotland is country, every Welshman says Wales is a country and every Northern Irishman says Northern Ireland is a country). England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not have seperate seats at the UN for example we are all part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Please stop pretending that Scotland is being somehow victimised! Have a good day.
I don't really see Z***e fitting here. How is it different from adding Swaziland if eSwatini changed its flag? I mean, is there anything besides a name change?
Nice quiz! A quick question, what's the difference between Zaire and DRC? I thought that Zaire was renamed to DRC but here Zaire is shown as a former country.
(I am not pointing out that it should be changed but I genuinely want to know)
Zaire was under the leadership of Joseph Mobutu, also known as Mobutu Sese Seko, after a coup d'etat in 1965, and he sought to Africanize the country, forcing citizens to change their names to more traditional African names. So basically, Zaire was a dictatorship under Seko until it eventually fell in 1997 and renamed back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Some of these flags are really cool, especially Tibet. Most of the shapes I was familiar with, but there were a few I had to zoom in and look at more closely.
Fun quiz! I agree, though, that I wouldn't call Zaire a "former country." It just changed its name and flag. Burma, for example, isn't a "former country."
Scotland is a country - one of four that makes up the United Kingdom/ Britain. The flag still exists and remains valid. Scots person here - don't want to get into a debate but it's very much a country in its own right. As are our neighbours, England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
I would really like to know who it is that keeps insisting that "Scotland is a country". I suspect that it's not Scottish people, who very likely know better than that. Maybe disgruntled Brits who fear for the future of the United Kingdom? Or just assorted nit-pickers from around the world who happen to all be wrong?
There could be an argument that Scotland is a "constituent country", if you agree that this is not the same thing as being a "country" (which is what this quiz is about).
If there is a requirement to be undisputed, then Israel isn't a country. Texas should definitely qualify. It had control of its territory, foreign relations with several large states, and was recognized as an independent nation by a few major powers.
Vermont is trickier, but I would still say they qualify as independent as they were definitely a sovereign state, and they had full control of their territory.
What I will say is that I think Texas's borders should be reduced to what they actually controlled, which was a much smaller part entirely within Texas's modern borders.
One could argue that a country is actual when it’s recognized by the one that’s ceding the territory. Israel’s territory was ceded by UK, who had the mandate of Palestine, and that’s why Israel has a seat at the United Nations. Mexico didn’t recognize the Republic of Texas, the territory was transfered to USA after the Mexican-American war.
I think that Texas was a “country” for 10 years during the 19th century as much as Crimea was a “country” for a couple of days in 2014: both had control of its territories and were recognized by a major power. But the end-game for both so-called republics was to be annexed by the big neighbor next door.
I think it's a bit more complex than just saying that if the country ceding the territory doesn't recognize it then it's not a country. For example Japan ceded the territory that is now North Korea after WW2 and it currently doesn't recognize North Korea. Not only that but it is likely that at some point in the future North Korea will no longer continue to exist. Despite that I think we can all agree that North Korea is, unfortunately for everyone but the Kims, an independent country.
It's a "country of the UK", which is not a country in the internationally accepted sense of the word which is oh! so clearly! used in this quiz. The word "country" translates to "Land" in German - would you argue that Bavaria and the Saarland are countries? Is "Flavour Country" a country ? Is "Country Kitchen Buffet"?
the Austria-Hungary flag is wrong. Austria-Hungary did not have a single national flag as it was two nations bound together by a monarchy. the flag commonly (and incorrectly) used is the civil ensign. this is because sometime in 2003 someone on wikipedia made that the flag and it has since spread across the web.
Scotland really is a seperate country within the UK
It's a part of the United Kingdom. Not an own country. Get your facts right, man.
(I am not pointing out that it should be changed but I genuinely want to know)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo#:~:text=Mobutu%20remained%20the%20head%20of,Democratic%20Republic%20of%20the%20Congo.
If an eastern Moldovan insisted that their country was "Transnistria", would we respect that in the same way? Or Chechnya, etc.
Having said that, we can use the term "country" a bit loosely, so there doesn't need to be a big debate about it.
Vermont is trickier, but I would still say they qualify as independent as they were definitely a sovereign state, and they had full control of their territory.
What I will say is that I think Texas's borders should be reduced to what they actually controlled, which was a much smaller part entirely within Texas's modern borders.
I think that Texas was a “country” for 10 years during the 19th century as much as Crimea was a “country” for a couple of days in 2014: both had control of its territories and were recognized by a major power. But the end-game for both so-called republics was to be annexed by the big neighbor next door.
https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/1306568/geographical-shapes